Packard LePere LUSAC-11

Packard-Le Père LUSAC-11

LandUsa
RoleGevechtsvliegtuigen
Eerste vlucht15 mei 1918
Gebouwd30

De LUSAC-11 (Lepère United States Army Combat) was een vroeg Amerikaans tweezits gevechtsvliegtuig. Het was een Frans ontwerp, in opdracht gegeven en gebouwd in de Verenigde Staten tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog en in grote aantallen besteld door het United States Army Air Corps, maar deze werden aan het einde van de oorlog geannuleerd en er werden er slechts 30 gebouwd. Het type werd gebruikt voor experimentele doeleinden en vestigde in de jaren 1920 verschillende hoogterecords.

Bron: Packard-Le Père LUSAC-11 op Wikipedia

Packard LePere LUSAC-11 Walk Around
FotograafVladimir Yakubov
LokalisatieNationaal Museum van de USAF
Foto 's35
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Zie ook:

Tweede Wereldoorlog: de definitieve visuele geschiedenis van Blitzkrieg tot de atoombom (DK Definitive Visual Histories) - Amazon Kaart voor kaart van de Tweede Wereldoorlog (DK History Map by Map) - Amazon


A French Design with American Muscle

De Packard LePère LUSAC-11 (Lepère United States Army Combat) was a two-seat fighter designed by Captain Georges LePère of the French Air Service for production in the United States. While it arrived too late to see combat in World War I, it became a legendary testbed in the early 1920s. Armed with the powerful American Liberty Engine, it was one of the fastest and highest-climbing aircraft of its era, serving as the platform for pioneering research into high-altitude flight and turbocharging.

Attribute Technical Specification (LUSAC-11)
Role Two-Seat Fighter / Reconnaissance
Bemanning 2 (Pilot and Observer/Gunner)
First Flight May 15, 1918
Krachtbron 1 × Liberty L-12 water-cooled V-12 engine
Horsepower 425 hp (317 kW)
Maximum Speed 136 mph (219 km/h)
Service Ceiling 20,200 feet (Standard) / 34,500+ feet (Modified)
Bewapening 2 × .30 cal Marlins (Forward); 2 × .30 cal Lewis guns (Rear)

Engineering for the Stratosphere

  • The Liberty Engine Integration: Unlike many contemporary biplanes that used lower-powered rotary engines, the LUSAC-11 was designed specifically around the liquid-cooled Liberty L-12. This engine provided a massive power-to-weight ratio for the time.
  • Veneer Fuselage: The aircraft featured a plywood-veneer monocoque fuselage, which was much stronger and more aerodynamic than the traditional fabric-on-wood-frame construction used on most WWI fighters.
  • Turbo-Supercharging Research: The LUSAC-11 was famously used by Dr. Sanford Moss to test the first exhaust-driven turbo-superchargers. This allowed the engine to maintain power even as the air thinned at high altitudes.
  • Staggered Wings: The biplane wings were staggered to improve the pilot’s visibility and aerodynamic efficiency, a hallmark of LePère’s clean French design philosophy.

A Legacy of Records

  • Shattering the Ceiling: On September 28, 1921, Lieutenant John A. Macready flew a specially modified LUSAC-11 to a world-record altitude of 34,509 feet. At this height, the air was so thin and cold that Macready required a primitive supplemental oxygen system.
  • The McCook Field Era: Most LUSAC-11s spent their careers at McCook Field in Ohio, the center of U.S. Army Air Service engineering. They were used to test everything from new propellers to early flight instruments.
  • Late to the Fight: Of the 3,500 units originally ordered, only about 25 were completed before the Armistice led to mass cancellations. Only two were actually shipped to France before the war ended.
  • Survivor: The only remaining LUSAC-11 is a centerpiece of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, restored to represent the aircraft used in the 1921 record flight.

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